Ferroelectric polarization-enhanced photocatalytic performance of heterostructured BaTiO3@TiO2 via interface engineering

A catalyst of ferroelectric-BaTiO3@photoelectric-TiO2 nanohybrids (BaTiO3@TiO2) with enhanced photocatalytic activity was synthesized via a hydrolysis precipitation combined with a hydrothermal approach. Compared to pure TiO2, pure BaTiO3 and BaTiO3/TiO2 physical mixture, the heterostructured BaTiO3@TiO2 exhibits significantly improved photocatalytic activity and cycling stability in decomposing Rhodamine B (RhB) and the degradation efficiency is 1.7 times higher than pure TiO2 and 7.2 times higher than pure BaTiO3. These results are mainly attributed to the synergy effect of photoelectric TiO2, ferroelectric-BaTiO3 and the rationally designed interfacial structure. The mesoporous microstructure of TiO2 is of a high specific area and enables excellent photocatalytic activity. The ferroelectric polarization induced built-in electric field in BaTiO3 nanoparticles, and the intimate interfacial interactions at the interface of BaTiO3 and TiO2 are effective in driving the separation and transport of photogenerated charge carriers. This strategy will stimulate the design of heterostructured photocatalysts with outstanding photocatalytic performance via interface engineering.